Don't let the transfer times put you off. but i would recommend Kas.

Its a proper little harbour village with beatiful scenery and cobbled streets. It feels turkish rather than commercial. Kalkan is very nice too, but quite hilly.

Dalyan is a lovely spot also, and only 40 mins from Dalaman airport, but you have to get minibus or boat to the beach as the river meets the sea and there is a lake in the middle of the town.

bitez has a stoney beach and beach shoes are needed to go in the sea, we also found it fairly expensive compared to other resorts, not sure if this is a concern to you as you say nice beach, if you want a sandy beach then you might be better to look elsewhere. olu deniz is lovely , medium resort with a lovely lagoon area, the main beach is shingly but the lagoon area does have some sandy beaches with fab scenery

we love akyaka, its very charming, very turkish, beautiful scenery, 50 mins from dalaman airport, gorgeous sandy beach, have a look at theshttp://akyaka.com/index.php

http://www.turkuaz-guide.net/gokova.html

http://www.idymahotel.com/en/index.htm

http://www.marmarisinfo.com/sightseeing/cleopatra.phtml

http://www.akyaka.org/index_eng.htm

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/akyaka/

http://www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk/destinations/property/incogn/detail/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akyaka%2C_Mu%C4%9Fla

http://tomsanokaliptus.com/

http://www.gatetoturkey.com/turkey_a_z_tour/01015/

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ciaranburns/Aktour.e links and the photos in the gallery

good luck with where ever you choose, everyone suggests their favourite places and some ignore the poster requests so please read up on any resorts suggested

I haven't stayed in Olu Deniz but I can tell you about Bitez. It is a smallish resort, set all along the beach front with lots of nice restaurants and a few bars. All the accomodation is close, there are some lovley hotels and apartments along the beach or just back a few minutes. The beach is nice, shingle rather than sand and some parts are a bit pebbly when you go into the sea so maybe you will need some beach shoes if you have sensitive feet but other parts are fine to get in. You don't have to pay for sunbeds anywhere, the restaurants along the front look after their own bits of beach so as long as you by a drink or maybe some lunch from there you can sit there all day if you like.

You would also be near to Bodrum if you fancied a day or night out, there is plenty to see and do there with lots of lovely restaurants and bars for the evening with shops and historical sites for the day. It takes about 15 minutes by dolmus (minibus) to get into Bodrum and the buses run til very late. You could also go into gumbet of you want a change of scenery, it is lively there but there are some nice restaurants and you can walk along the beach.

Bitez is about 45 drive from Bodrum airport and about and hour if you are going by coach.

If you are based in Bitez you can also explore the rest of the peninsular buy bus if you fancy some time away form the beach, all the buses go from bodrum and it is very cheap to get around, the scenery is stunning and some of the smaller resorts are very pretty.

If you want to know anything else about the are feel free to ask away, I used to live near Bodrum for a few years so I may be able to help.

Kedi

Many thanks for the replies so far and it gives me some more reading to do over the weekend on the other towns.

What hotels would you recommend in Bitez. Charter flights for me are very expensive so I have to do it as a package (which is really don't like doing) so hotel choices are quite limited.

Sorry another quick question, does Kalkan have a beach or what is it like as a town?

Kalkan fits your requirements for the town bit but as for a beach, it is pebbly, people go to swimming platforms, nice little harbour though. Having said that, if you take a dolmus(mini bus) to Patara Beach, this is well worth a visit. There is a Discussion on Kalkan, scroll back to August 21st, 2008 to find it.

Les

Dshiels...

I think Bitez fits the bill perfectly for you!

It has a nice crescent shaped beach, shingle one end (which suits us as you dont have kids building sandcastles next door!) and sand the other. At 3 o'clock onwards you get a lovely cooling breeze (the same as Rhodes). Kedi has explained about the resturants looking after their own section of beach. You only have to park your bum on a sunbed or hammock buy a drink and stay there all day for free.

The restaurants are lovely and we all have our favourites. The ones on the front are more expensive as Ellie-Meg noticed when she visited 'for the day' last year. Round the back they are the quarter of the price, but you dont have the ambiance or the beautiful views. Bitez is a classy, cosmopolitan bay.

If you decide on Bitez, let us know the hotels that are available to you and we can help you decide. When are you both thinking of going???

We are biased though, as we went quite a few times last year and we are back in Bitez next month for 3 weeks

My daughter is 28 and loves it there, its her second home. Everything is a dolmus ride away so you can get out and about to explore.

Where ever you decide, im sure you will both enjoy all Turkey has to offer

I do agree with Kadi that the restaurants along the front are a bit more expensive but they are really very nice. There are also some lovely restaurants further back, the food is just as nice but they are a lot cheapr because they don't have the sea view.

I stayed in some lovely apartments, both Summer Gardens and Basri Apartments are very nice. I also stayed in Manuela Hotel, which is in a lovely position, there were a lot of Irish guests there and they have an Irish bar too. I found it a bit loud though.

I was going to mention The Manuela thats why I asked their holiday dates because this year it is not available in July and August because Oktay is keeping those months for his Turkish clients.

Everyone has their favourite resort but I really think Olu Deniz ticks all your boxes. Charming scenic compact resort. Plenty of restaurants and bars,all extremely friendly. As lively or as quiet as you want to make it. Not in your face but dancing bars etc if you want it. Definitely not an 18-30 type resort. Beautiful lagoon and beach, lagoon being a very short walk away. You also have Hisaronu five minutes up the hill by dolmus if you fancied a livelier night out and the market is there on Mondays.
Belcekiz Beach in my opinion the best hotel in the resort but like ellie meg says the Karbel gets good reviews, think it is b&b. Good boat trips in this area too, you can expect to pay about 7 quid for a full day including a very good bbq lunch. Enjoy wherever you decide to go, you will love Turkey!

Being from Northern Ireland understand the difficulty in getting flights however we have an apartment in Calis Beach thats only 50 mins from dalaman Airport ,its a nice quiet resort with plenty of bars and restaurants along the seafront... it also gives you the option to go into nearby Fethiye by dolmus and you are still close enough for a trip to Olu deiz Diana

hey

Me and my husband love Olu Deniz, we are going in July for the third time, it is compact and tranquil, with an abundabce of restaurants and quiet bars, if you want to go for a dance or a later night you can find it, but that side is not in your face. The beach is pebbly but a pair of beach shoes and your fine, the lagoon is paradise.

The hotels are all in easy walking distance of the main stip and there is a local dolmus stop, so it is an ideal base for doing a bit of sight seeing and there are lots of independant tour operators which offer excursions at reasonable prices-far better than the reps, who'll tell you to steer clear of them as they (the reps I mean) are only interested in your hard earnt money.
There are many lovely restaurants offering cuisine from around the world, with lots offering excellent turkish cuisine.

Olu is also surrounded by mountains which make you feel all tucked in and secluded and offers amazing scenery and the chance to jump of the mountain .

Wherever you choose you will absolutely love Turkey, the weather and the people are brilliant. xx

Thanks everyone for the advice. Broadband was down over the weekend so I'm only getting back online now.

Did some more research on Friday evening and finally decided on Kalkan and the Kelebek hotel. Although there isn't a nice beach the review I read of the town and hotel pretty much described exactly what we wanted. We go on 15th June and I can't wait. Hopefully we will love Turkey and if we do I would plan to go back late August/early September and try one of the other recommendations.

Many thanks again for the useful advice and for each of you taking the time to reply. Its very much appreciated.

I'm glad you've found somewhere that suits, I haven't been to Kalkan but it does sound very nice. I hope you have a great holiday

Kedi

I am really pleased you chose Kalkan, the people there are really warm and friendly and not in your face. If you go to the Discussion on Kalkan you will find recommendations for places to eat. We've been to Kalkan twice, staying at the Hotel Nur on both occasions, it is located on the left as you go up the hill to the weekly market, call in there for a drink and maybe a snack. Wishing you all the very best for a highly enjoyable holiday.

Les

Sorry to drag up an old topic again.

We ended up visiting Kalkan twice last year as we loved it so much the first time so thanks to those who recommended it, it was exactly what we were looking for.

We are now trying to plan our hols for next summer and would like to try somewhere new. Ideally we are looking for somewhere very like Kalkan but perhaps even less commercialised/busy. We are not interested in large hotels and prefer a boutique type hotel.

Flights are now expanding from Belfast so Bodrum, Dalaman and Antalya airports are all possible. There seems to be some lovely place in the Antalya area.

So any recommendations would be really appreciate and if anyone has any questions about Kalkan I will be happy to try to answer them.

I would recommend Turunc, Dalyan or Akyaka. The scenery around all of them is spectacular and they are all quite small resorts. Dalyan is probably the biggest and most developed but the setting by the river is wonderful. Akyaka is very uncommercialised and has a lovely beach, but the village and restaurants are a bit more spread out than Turunc. Turunc is very compact and the low key nightlife revolves around the restaurants and bars in the main street which is pedestrianised at night. Nowhere is more than 10 minutes walk away, but there is still more than enough choice of lovely restuarants for a two week holiday. Its the sort of place where you get to know the bar and restaurant owners and waiters, and other holidaymakers, which makes for a lovely friendly atmosphere. There are a several small family run hotels and apartment blocks which would probably suit you. It's also very easy to get around by taxi boat, dolmus or on organised trips. Marmaris and Icmeler are both within easy reach if you want shopping or a lively night out.